


Would you go on a date with her?

by Sugar_and_Salt



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternative Universe - High School, F/M, Fem!chanyeol, First Date, Fluff, Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, fem!Minseok, fem!jongdae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-06-28 09:11:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15704211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugar_and_Salt/pseuds/Sugar_and_Salt
Summary: Yixing thought he was just the butt of another harmless joke, but apparently, Jongdae was serious about going on a date with him.





	Would you go on a date with her?

**Author's Note:**

> prompt #261  
> I've never written fem!exo before, so this was new to me. I hope the prompter likes it! :)  
> thank you so much to my beta B, who read this fic on a very short notice. you're a lifesaver!

 

"Shut up, you Dingus! Not my fault you lack balls!"

"Bringing me down doesn't make you any more feminine," Baekhyun countered, but it was kinda obvious that this had been a prick to his male ego. "Besides, what exactly is unmanly about me, huh?"

The sun was just barely shining inside the classroom, not reaching the noisy bunch of boys and girls that had gathered together. They always found something to talk about, and today, Jongdae's general lack of femininity was the focus.

"I heard you made a guy _cry_ ," Baekhyun added, causing Minseo to laugh lightly.

"Scary as shit," Baekhyun added, clearly liking the reaction he got, but Jongdae wasn't phased and just snatched another piece of cucumber out of her lunch box.

"Oh _no_ , I made a guy cry! Guys make girls cry all the time, but the other way around is scary? You think there's less tears in a guy? Because I think there's more. They're filled to the brim with tears, too, okay?"

"I'm not even sure if that's just weird or philosophical," Kyungsoo muttered, not looking up from where he was doodling on the back of their assignment sheet from earlier.

"No one has more tears in them than I do," Chanmi provided almost proudly, only to belatedly realize how self-deprecating it was.

"Point stands, Jongdae is scary as fuck. I couldn't imagine anyone who'd voluntarily go on a date with her," Baekhyun laughed, and Jongdae gave him an unimpressed look.

"Speak for yourself. I'm not the one who got turned down five times for that summer festival dance."

"Because you didn’t ask anyone out!" Baekhyun replied in exasperation.

"I asked Minseo."

"That doesn't count."

Minseo took offense to that, or at least acted like she did, crossing her arms.

"What, you think I say yes to just anyone? How about you ask me out next time? Oh right - lack of balls."

She and Jongdae shared a casual high five.

"I didn't even want to- anyway. Just admit you're into girls already."

Jongdae opened a chocolate bar next, properly cracking all the pieces first.

"What, because every girl with ambition is a lesbian?" she asked, placing it on the table for everyone to help themselves. "What makes you even think so?"

"Then what's your type?" Chanmi cut them off, clearly bored by their banter and the fact that she hadn't said anything in almost a minute.

"Yeah, Jongdae. Who would you go on a date with?" Baekhyun added, almost challenging, and Jongdae shrugged.

"Yixing, for example."

The group reacted with a wide range of emotions, going from utter disbelief (Baekhyun) to an amused little smile (Kyungsoo). Also by turning around to stare at Yixing, who sat a few tables away, alone, as usual, reading a Mandarin book with earphones plugged in. When he noticed their staring, he took one of them out.

"What?" he asked, more confused than angry. Yixing was usually confused.

"Would you go on a date with her?" Baekhyun asked, earning himself a harsh slap by Minseo that made him wince.

Yixing looked at Jongdae and blinked.

"Sure?" he more asked than stated, but it was enough for Jongdae to yell "a-HA," in Baekhyun's face, and then the banter was sparked anew.

"Why _him_?"

"Maybe I like quiet, sophisticated guys? Like, guys that are the opposite of _you_?"

"You're a loud rambo yourself, what are you talking about?"

Jongdae fixed her hair and crossed her legs, still perfectly unbothered, because that was what drove Baekhyun mad the most.

"Opposites attract, ever thought of that? If I'm loud, it would only be wise to team up with a quiet person, right?"

"We're talking about dating, Dae, not forming a sports team," Minseo threw in, and Jongdae waved her off.

"Same thing."

"Same thing?" Chanmi asked, a little too loud. "Who are you teaming up against?"

"Anyone, everyone, it doesn't matter, does it? Anyway, I still gotta copy Minseo's homework. We still got time, right?" Jongdae said, effectively steering the discussion in a different direction because no, there wasn't nearly enough time left.

 

Behind them, Yixing was looking down at his book again, as if no part of that conversation had ever taken place. Little did they know that he was just staring at the pages, music muted. He didn't notice the fleeting glance Jongdae threw him at some point.

 

That was how it all started. Pretty stupid, really.  
  


* * *

 

The moment they had turned towards him and Jongdae had acknowledged his existence had already been a major highlight in Yixing’s day. Or week. 

The rest of the school day was spent staring at the back of Jongdae’s head, at her messy ponytail and slightly wrinkled uniform, which was pretty much a common occurrence at this point (Yixing staring, but Jongdae’s uniform was rarely ironed, as well).  
It wasn’t a smart move on his end, considering that he had to pay very close attention to understand the teacher’s slurry Korean, but he’d pass the class somehow.  
One thing he did to practice Korean on his own was keeping a little diary. It was nothing fancy and didn’t contain anything wordy or interesting, either, but it was perfect for practicing. This day, he might finally have something to write in there, and a lot at that. After the bell rang at the end of their last lesson, Yixing stayed back to pack up his things at a snail’s pace. He usually went straight to the dance practice room in the East wing when his lessons for the day were done, and he didn’t want anyone paying him too much attention. His worries had always been entirely unnecessary - no one paid him any heed, especially not if the weekend was around the corner.  
  
Today, though, things were different. A pair of slim hands was suddenly slammed on his desk, causing Yixing to jump in his seat and look up to see Jongdae shooting him an expectant look.  
  
"So, about that date," she began, shifting her weight back and forth and surely, Yixing had misheard her.

"Yes?" he asked, hoping to coax her to keep talking and reveal what exactly she was expecting of him.

"Well, when are you free?" Jongdae asked, a tiny tinge of insecurity flashing over her bright eyes.

"Oh," Yixing said, without really comprehending - he was just buying time, really.

"I- You said you would," Jongdae began, and unlike Yixing, she wasn't looking around to confirm that they were alone. "Go on a date with me, I mean."

"Of course," Yixing hurried to say, brain racing to come up with something more confident and intellectual than the gaping fish he was currently verbally resembling. "Uhm. Tomorrow?"

"Sounds great!" Jongdae replied enthusiastically, a little too loud, maybe. "What time?"

"Three in the afternoon?" Yixing _guessed_ in his stilted Korean, "In front of the Chinese bakery at the square?"

"Great!" Jongdae said again, slightly nodding her head and then brilliantly smiling at Yixing.

"See you tomorrow, then!"

She was gone before Yixing could embarrass himself any further, yelling after her friends to wait for her.

And Yixing was left to stare after her, completely baffled.

What had just happened? Had he actually scored a date with the very person he'd had his eyes set on for months? _How_ had it happened?

He kept replaying the whole thing in his head until he was standing in the dance practice room. It took until then, until he stared at himself in the mirror, to snap out of it.

The how and why didn't matter - he had to think of something to _do_!

He stepped a little closer to the mirror, fiddling with his bangs. He had never paid particular attention to his appearance, and now he regretted it. A date. He had to look special, wear nice clothes and- would it be too much to get a haircut?

What would they even be doing during that date?

What would Jongdae want to do on a date?

Yixing thought about that, standing next to the mirror and staring at the ground as if his brain had just experienced a total breakdown - which it had, in a way.

Jongdae was neither overly girly and prissy nor particularly tomboyish. She was rather loud, and loved laughing, but wasn't vicious in her jabs at others. Adventurous was actually the first thing that came to mind when he thought of her. Jongdae was always open to everyone and everything, and loved sports of all kind - she and Minseo were considered two of their best volleyball players.

But how could he implement that in a date? Yixing couldn't think of anything sports-related in the area - then again, he didn't know the city too well.

 

With a groan, he ruffled his hair, effectively messing it up even more.

Oh boy, this was happening. This was _actually_ happening.  
  


* * *

 

"Perfume, earrings, lipgloss, mascara, check."

Jongdae padded over the wooden floor, reached for her handbag and threw her keys inside.

"Money, keys, phone, bobby pins, band aids, socks?"

She looked down at her feet.

"Check."

They were barely visible after she slipped into her shiny black shoes, but they were damn adorable - with tiny melon slices on them - and they made her feel more confident.

One last look in the mirror and Jongdae was ready to go on her first date in... years. She seriously couldn't remember the last date she'd been on (that was a lie - her last date had been years ago, and with Baekhyun, a day they both decided to forget about entirely).

She skidded over to the mirror for a last, quick check of the overall look, and decided that it had to do. Compared to the other girls in her class, Jongdae's sense of fashion was dull at best and questionable at worst, but she refused to adapt. She liked those melon socks, and she'd wear them with this semi-long skirt if she wanted to, dammit. Actually, she had debated going for a more sexy look, for crass lipstick, tight pants or even a crop top, but that just wasn't her style. Jeans were tight and uncomfortable, and she had no idea how long a date usually lasted. That was the same reason she had decided against high heels, too (that and the fact that she only had one pair, meant for super formal occasions). All in all, she looked rather plain, but it was the best she had to offer. Yixing knew what he'd been signing up for, anyway, so he had no right to complain, she told herself. She peeked at her phone one last time - Yixing hadn't canceled the whole thing yet - and then she finally left the house. Sunlight immediately beat down on her, and a stray hair stuck to her glossy lips, but Jongdae wasn't deterred and simply plugged in her earphones to blast some upbeat music.  
  


* * *

 

Yixing looked at his watch. It was ten to three, time to go to their meeting point. He'd arrived almost an hour early, had circled the area and then realized that would make him end up all sweaty, which resulted in him wasting time at a nearby bookstore. The rows and rows of magazines hadn't really done anything for his nervous mind. Today, he had noticed that it didn't matter whether a magazine was aimed at men or women; they were _all_ about dating, finding or maintaining relationships and, in many cases, about sex. Something Yixing obviously didn't have to worry about yet, and honestly? Sex was less terrifying to him than going on dates. Sure, he wasn't terribly experienced, but sex usually came when two people were already together, trusting each other and all that jazz. It was the ' _getting to that point_ ' part that worried him the most.

The sun was really bright, but it wasn't scorching hot. Probably the perfect weather for a date. Yixing felt even sillier now for studying the movie theater's program so well - Jongdae would probably want to be outside, enjoying the nice weather.

Yixing didn't think that Jongdae was a tomboy. When he arrived in Korea around a year ago, he hadn't even known what 'tomboy' meant. He had secretly looked it up one day after someone had described her like that.

 _A tomboy is a girl who prefers clothing or activities traditionally associated with boys_ , his simple dictionary had told him. Back then, Yixing had been skeptic, even doubting his dictionary and looking up more definitions online. He just couldn't see how Jongdae was supposed to be a tomboy. She wore the girls' school uniform, and even light makeup sometimes. She was an ace when it came to sports, especially anything teamsport-related, and preferred activity over obsessing over her appearance. She loved to eat where other girls were on diets, and she laughed loudly while others were silently judging. There was nothing very boyish about that to Yixing. Then again, he was clearly biased. He used to peg himself as a rather traditional type of guy, someone who was attracted to shy, soft-spoken sweethearts, but Jongdae's loud demeanour had snatched his attention and somehow refused to let go of it.

Long story short, Yixing was _terrified_ that he might ruin this. A date with the most dazzling girl in the entire school, based on no other previous interactions. Well, that might be an exaggeration. They had been sorted into the same groups occasionally, had greeted each other and exchanged a few sentences, but now that he was approaching their meeting point, all these interactions suddenly seemed less relevant to him than they had before. Jongdae probably didn't even remember any of them. Why were they even doing this?

It was too late to panic and back out, though, because Jongdae was already waving at him.  
  


* * *

 

"Hey," Jongdae greeted him, masking most of her excitement. It wasn’t like excitement was bad, but half of her current excitement was enough for three dates. Yixing looked _really_ good. School uniforms definitely did him dirty. She wondered whether he always wore dress shirts, or whether he had dolled himself up for her.

"Hi," Yixing began, his voice soft as ever, and Jongdae resisted the urge to squirm under the subtle once over. Maybe she should have dressed up a little nicer after all, if he was being all formal about this.

"You're here early," he just continued, mercifully not commenting on Jongdae's oddball sense of fashion, "I hope you didn't wait long-"

"Not at all! And like you said, it's my fault for being early," Jongdae laughed, and the other backpedalled immediately.

"I didn't mean to say it in an accusing way, sorry-"

"No harm done," Jongdae chirped, mentally berating herself to let him talk. Interrupting people was a bad habit of hers. She dutifully shut up and looked at Yixing, struck by the urge to touch his super soft-looking hair. It looked like there were no products in it at all.

The silence got awkward real quick though.

"So," Yixing began, and Jongdae hurried to meet his gaze again. Focus, she told herself.

"So? Did you have any plans?" she asked, almost cautiously. She felt like one wrong word would make him turn around and flee, and Baekhyun would _never_ let her live that down.

Yixing fidgeted, placing one hand in the pocket of his jeans as if holding on to it.

"Ah. I thought we might, uhm. I looked up some nice places and movies, but..."

Jongdae snapped before she knew it.

"Let's go to the zoo!" she proposed, a little too excited maybe.

Yixing looked completely taken aback, and Jongdae cleared her throat.

"Too childish? Sorry, pretend I didn't say it."

The awkwardness had simply been too painful and Jongdae had felt obligated to take over. Immediately, Yixing raised his palms in defense.

"No! No, it's not childish, I just. That is a great idea!" he reassured her, and it was almost comical. Jongdae felt true pity for the squirming mess in front of her.

"I don't know where it is, but I think I can look it up-"

"No need, I know the way!" Jongdae promised, encouragingly patting his shoulder and lightly tugging at his arm before letting go and simply walking ahead. At first, it had seemed like a nice idea, to walk with their arms linked or holding hands, like in the movies, but now it was awkward and Jongdae decided that she felt cheap behaving like that. Man, her nerves were making this hard. Still, she was faring much better than Yixing himself, who walked beside her in silence. Surely, he just needed to warm up a little. Jongdae was certain of that. She _knew_ there was a lot to Yixing.

"So, you haven't been to the zoo yet? In this town, I mean?" she asked, fidgety fingers locked around the strap of her small messenger bag.

"No, I haven't. I think my last visit to the zoo was when I was in elementary school."

"Really? You sure you don't think it's childish?"

Yixing shook his head again.

"No, I just hadn’t thought of it."

Straight to the point, hook and sink, conversation met a dead end, nothing to see here.

Jongdae smiled and waited for her brain to toss her another conversation starter, or some kind of desperate reach to keep this one going.

"Did you like it, back then? Did they have really exotic animals?" she prodded, and Yixing shrugged.

"I guess so? I can't really remember."

Jongdae's smile didn't falter, but mostly because it was plastered in place now, forcibly so.

 _Man_ , she thought, _this might become a long ass day_.  
  


* * *

 

People liked to say that Jongdae was a male name, and how only 1% of all the Jongdae’s in Korea were female, according to the internet. To someone born and raised in China, a Korean name had no connotation of gender at all. What even Yixing noticed though, was that Jongdae indeed talked a lot. A _lot_. The only silent moments occurred when she needed air. And whenever she did stop talking, she’d look at him expectantly and Yixing would mess it up by waiting too long, and then the chance passed by for good and Jongdae went back to talking. About her previous visits to zoos, about school, about teachers, about her hobbies, how she would love to try jet skiing. Yixing listened, but listening was all he could do. It wasn't like he was not interested, or that he was bothered by her talking so much - he simply couldn't keep up.

It got better when they finally reached the zoo. Yixing had no idea how large the zoo was but it _felt_ huge. They passed by way more animals than he knew existed, and dutifully stopped by the signs to skim the information on them. He was actually amazed at the variety of animals being kept, and yet he kept getting distracted by Jongdae. Not that she was trying to get his attention, quite the opposite - she seemed very much open to observing the animals for hours on end - but she just looked fantastic. Yixing had assumed seeing her in her sport's uniform was the best thing that had happened to him, but seeing her in everyday clothing was so much better. It made her more tangible as a person and allowed her to properly express herself. He hadn't really thought about it previously, hadn't expected anything, but when he saw her, he couldn't help but think of how much her clothes suited her. There was the skirt that was prudishly long, but not long enough to actually reach the ground, fluttering around her calves in generous folds that probably had a name, except Yixing didn't even know it in Mandarin, so he sure as hell didn't know the Korean term for it. Most girls would then wear a loose top and tuck it inside the skirt, like he saw it all the time, but Jongdae had chosen a light shirt with a colorful print that was casually resting over the skirt. She was wearing colorful socks, too, and closed, shiny shoes that he’d usually associate with formal suits. Her hair was not tied up in a high ponytail for once, but fumbled into a more loose, one-sided one, and her lips were glossy. Did staring at her lips make him a pervert? Hopefully not.

"What do you think, are pet squirrels a thing?"

And she was wearing eye makeup, too, just a tinge more than usual.

"Uhm, sorry?" Yixing asked, and he saw a glimpse of hesitation running over Jongdae's expression, clearly questioning whether he was even listening.

"Pet squirrels, I want one," Jongdae elaborated with the lightest pout, and Yixing turned away from her to look at the squirrels merrily running around their cage.

"You think they can keep up with you?" he asked before thinking, and Jongdae reacted with exasperation.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean," Yixing began, having no idea _what he meant_ , "Squirrels seem like they'd be easily exhausted... and humans are much bigger and it's not like _I_ couldn't keep up, but a squirrel-"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, all excuses," Jongdae waved him off with a clearly fake pout now. Yixing was glad for being cut off, because he really had been talking the biggest nonsense. Why couldn't he think straight around her?

"I'm sorry," he hurried, seeking her eyes. "I wasn't thinking."

Jongdae actually snorted and shot him an amused look.

"You should stop thinking more often, then," she said, reaching up to flick his bangs (Yixing flinched as if she'd hit his skin instead). "It suits you."

With that, she tugged him over to the next cage, to another foreign desert species they had never heard of before, leaving Yixing to trail after her, feeling scattered and embarrassed.  
  


* * *

 

Jongdae could not honestly say that she was having the time of her life right now, but it was getting better. After walking through the zoo for hours, Yixing offered to get some ice cream for them (Jongdae would never, ever say no to ice cream) just before the zoo closed at seven. She was honestly a little tired, but unwilling to call it a day just yet, and Yixing wasn’t showing any signs of exhaustion, either. To be fair, even if he was, Jongdae would probably not have been able to interpret them. Still, instead of going home, they roamed around the big shopping center downtown, where Jongdae dragged him into a record store under the pretense of needing to buy a CD. It was nothing but an excuse to listen to music together, and Yixing was obviously surprised to find out Jongdae was into modern rock music, all electric guitars, euphoric atmospheres and powerful vocals.

"What do you listen to?" Jongdae asked stealthily, as they both flipped through rows and rows of CD's.

"Ah, I'm not too picky," Yixing said, not meeting her eye. "Rn'b maybe, but pop is also nice."

Jongdae pouted. Fine, then don't tell me, she thought flippantly to herself, and dropped what she was currently doing in favour of approaching the multiple huge screens to their left that were playing some very poppy, girlish music video. Feeling energetic, she tried to mimic the movements. She was pretty bad (Minseo was just so much better at this), and when she felt Yixing stare, she missed the next two steps in their dance entirely.

"It's difficult, okay?" she defended herself, but Yixing just kept smiling, chuckling even, which was more of a response than he had shown all day. Jongdae felt embarrassed, but at least her embarrassment had been for a good cause. She swallowed down her pride and put a little more effort into it, always way too late as she skipped to the side, made overly cutesy movements like covering her eyes or blowing a kiss at the screen. She was getting the hang of it and by the end of the song, she whirled around for a cute ending pose, hands curled like cat paws in front of her face.

Yixing was just smiling now, and Jongdae lowered her hands, biting her lips a little. This fake, cute demeanour just didn't suit her well, she couldn't see it through.

"You dance so cutely," Yixing said, and Jongdae resisted slapping his arm, if only barely so.

"That's because the _dance_ was cute! Usually, I stick to dancing badly. That’s my true passion." she stated confidently, but Yixing didn't buy it.

"I think with a little training, you could be great."

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, your turn!" Jongdae quickly changed the subject. Much to her glee, the next song was an incredibly sexy boy group song. Whether this turned out ridiculous or hot, she'd be the winner. Yixing promptly lifted his palms, even backing away half a step.

"I'm good. I'd rather not-"

"Too bad, because no one asked-" Jongdae began, but then her stomach made a sound that was borderline concerning, and they both paused.

"Was the ice cream bad?" Yixing asked, and it was so deadpan that Jongdae snorted.

"Did you just ask me whether I got diarrhea?"

Yixing was obviously racking his memory for the translation of this complex, unusual word, and then paled almost comically.

"NO-"

"Just kidding, just kidding," Jongdae waved him off, but her stomach was churning.

"I guess I'm just hungry? I didn't eat all that much this morning, so that's my fault," she laughed awkwardly. This sounded like she was demanding Yixing to take her out to some fancy dinner, and that wasn't her intention at all. So, as usual, dashing forwards was the only option.

"I know this nice chicken place, not too far away from here, wanna give it a shot?"

Yixing actually hesitated.

"I know a place as well, it's really good, but..."

He looked at his watch, and Jongdae tilted her head.

"But it's closed?"

"No, it's... nothing."

Jongdae stared at the guy before her, fidgeting in his pristine shirt, and was struck by a sudden thought.

"You didn’t reserve a table, did you?"

Yixing's eyes widened.

" _No_."

For a very long second, they just stared at each other.

"What time?" Jongdae asked, and Yixing looked at his watch again.

"Fifteen minutes?" he asked, rather than stated, and Jongdae felt the adrenaline start pumping through her veins.

"Where's the restaurant?"

"Between the church and the market, the big church with the green roof, I looked it up online-"

Jongdae didn't let him finish and was already tugging at his hand.

"We can make it in fifteen minutes! Come on, hurry!"

They ran out of the store and through the shopping mall, complaints flying after them. They ran and ran, but unlike Yixing, who was already huffing, Jongdae was used to running (albeit not in such an uncomfortable get up). It wasn't enough to distract her from the wave of guilt she was feeling. Yixing actually _had_ made plans for their date, and Jongdae had ruined everything by getting ahead of herself, as usual. And of course, Yixing hadn't even mentioned it. How frustrating! Jongdae really wished Yixing would stop treating her like she was made of glass. That would be really nice.  
  


* * *

 

Yixing was still gasping for air while Jongdae was laughing so hard he was worried for her health.

They sat at a table in the restaurant Yixing had looked up online. They had made it on time alright. The restaurant was also completely deserted, so it wouldn’t have made a difference at all.

"We're so _stupid_ ," Jongdae began, gasping for air as well, upper body lying over the table almost entirely. Yixing was honestly more embarrassed than anything right now, but Jongdae seemed able to laugh it off, that was all that mattered. It was terribly adorable, her high-pitched, breathy laugh.

"We didn't know, so... better safe than sorry?" Yixing asked, and then a waiter appeared by their table, asking about drinks and handing them the menu. Jongdae was obviously trying to keep herself together. Yixing was stupidly enamoured.

"Hmm, let's see..." she hummed, scanning the menu. "Everything looks kinda good."

He could only agree and for a long time, they kept reading out dishes to each other. Yixing finally settled with a safe choice (casserole) while Jongdae was still torn between something exotic (grilled fish in tomato dill sauce) and something ridiculously exotic (baked goat cheese with honey on tomato creme). It wasn’t like anything on the menu was that expensive. He wouldn’t want Jongdae to pay too much or feel embarrassed at Yixing treating her to something too expensive. He didn’t want to make things awkward between them - which was maybe the funniest joke he hadn't said out loud that day.

"You know, I didn't think you'd run out of breath so quickly," Jongdae suddenly said, looking up and effectively catching Yixing staring at her like a creep.

"Huh? Why not?" he asked cluelessly, and Jongdae seemed eager to elaborate.

"Because you dance, and all."

"Oh."

He hadn't realized she knew about that.

"I saw the recital last year around Christmas. Oh, and I’ve watched you practice occasionally."

He hadn't realized she had _seen_ him. At Yixing's shocked silence, she backpedalled with a sheepish grin.

"Not like, in a weird way. I just heard the music sometimes, and then I noticed you. The room is pretty close to our training ground, you know?"

Yixing didn't know. That probably spoke for his dedication to dancing - he just didn't notice anything around him when he was in the zone.

"I thought you'd mention that somewhere along the way, you know?" Jongdae began, looking a little dejected. "Like when we were shopping for CD's, or... dancing."

"Did you plan that?" Yixing asked without thinking, and Jongdae was quick to shake her head.

"No! I just see a good opportunity when it's there."

Was that a 'good opportunity', too, asking him out? Yixing could only wonder about that. Jongdae seemed to sense that the atmosphere was reverting to its initial, guarded state, and shot him an encouraging smile.

"I'm sorry," she said, straightforward and easily, but no less genuine. "I didn't mean to nag or anything. I just wanted to get to you know you. I asked you out because you seem like a really interesting person, so, you know."

And still, Yixing didn't know.

"I thought you just went through with it so I wouldn't be disappointed about you guys joking around," he admitted, and Jongdae looked shocked.

"What? _No_ ," she claimed, scandalized, "nooo, it's not like that... besides, I'm not gonna sacrifice myself to fix other people's mistakes. They can get their heads out of their asses all by themselves. If you were hurt by their words, just tell them. Baekhyun just thinks he's all that, but if he knew how you danced, he'd probably try to befriend you, and desperately so."

Jongdae was talking so much again, and Yixing wanted to pause the endless stream of words, swim back in it and properly analyze what had been said. He lifted a hand almost shyly, asking Jongdae to wait (to be honest, it was more of an unspoken _waitwaitwait_ , and it would have probably been slurry, too, if he’d verbalized it), and to his relief, Jongdae shut up immediately, looking not particularly angry at the interruption. She was just waiting patiently, tapping the opened menu and then their drinks were brought. All of this gave Yixing time to think.

So she was actually on a date with him just because she _wanted_ to? She found Yixing _interesting_? _Interesting_? Italics weren't enough to express how mind-blowing and almost absurd this thought was to him. He really had assumed that Jongdae was just being nice, that this was definitely a one time thing - and maybe it really would be, considering how much he had messed up the entire day.

"Are you experiencing a mental blue screen right now ?" Jongdae almost whispered, looking overly concerned.

"Maybe?" Yixing replied honestly, because he really couldn't think of anything else to say. "I just. It's a little crazy. That you're serious about this. I mean, _kinda_ serious."

It was sad that now was the time Jongdae chose to let him speak instead of interrupting, because his words just sadly trickled off into nothingness.

"Why is that crazy?" came the immediate reply. Yixing felt verbally pinned down, his gaze continuously flickering between her imploring eyes and the menu.

"Well, because. Because I'm really boring," he tried to explain, hoping his choice of Korean words wasn't too misleading. "I'm not interesting at all. You and your friends are very active and expressive, and I just like to dance, and that's all I really have to offer. If I planned this day, we would have just been walking around a lot, maybe looking at the stars now. Just sappy, boring things."

"You think that's _boring_?" Jongdae asked, and now incredulousness and pity made for an interesting mix on her face. "Are you aware that this would make you a dream-come-true boyfriend for most of the female population?"

"You're not most of the female population," Yixing threw in quietly. Jongdae seemed torn now, and just as he was expecting a rejection, Jongdae slammed her palm on the table, making him jump.

The waiter was probably staring at them from the counter, enjoying the show, but Yixing was caught staring at Jongdae, completely shell-shocked.

"Who are you to judge that you're boring? _I'm_ on a date with you, so I get to judge," she said, a little breathless and somewhat agitated. As quick as the sudden outburst came, it left again, Jongdae's shoulders slumping a little, her voice softening.

"And I wanna get to know you before I judge," she insisted. "I've seen you dance to your self-made songs, and I saw the way you joked around with your friends via video chat, on the campus, and I really wanted to get to know _that_ person. You don't have to be so careful around me. I'm not all that fragile, you know? I won't break if you joke around with me, or start to cry if you tell me I'm going too fast, or talking too much, or-"

"I'm not sure I'm as confident as you," Yixing admitted, still a little blown away by that speech, and Jongdae actually laughed at that. Short, breathy and self-deprecating?

"I'm not confident though. Like, I'm the opposite of confident. I'm a nervous wreck right now, and if you looked close enough, you could probably see my fingers trembling."

She said it in an almost petulant manner, and Yixing stared at her in silence. His entire idea of Jongdae had been shaken up, and the waiter used this moment of silence to approach their table, asking for their order. Jongdae shot him a bright smile, and when she noticed Yixing's gaze, she attempted to pull her hand off the table, but Yixing was faster, covering it with his own, much bigger hand.

"I would like to have the casserole, please," he said to the waiter, ignoring his pounding heart and channeling the nerves into a perfectly pleasant expression. "With egg, if that's possible."

"Of course."

The waiter looked at Jongdae, and so did Yixing.

"Uhm. I'd like the grilled fish, please. With tomato and dill."

"Number 59?" the waiter asked, and Jongdae nodded as if she had actually memorized the number. Her fingers really were tense under his.

"Alright."

Jongdae's hand twitched, but Yixing held it tightly and handed the menu to the waiter instead, who made his leave, politely ignoring the fidgety teens.

Jongdae stared at their hands instead of meeting his eyes, and for the first time that day, she had run out of words to say. It was Yixing's time to speak up, and he did so, without giving himself time to overanalyze and come up with the best choice of words.

"I'm sorry," he began - a good beginning if he'd ever seen one - and waited until Jongdae met his gaze. She looked flustered.

"I misread the atmosphere. And you," Yixing added clumsily, willing himself to stay calm. "Thanks for giving me a chance, despite me being so... messy."

"You seem to be incredibly sorted out next to me," Jongdae provided, only half-joking, but it was something. Yixing ducked his head with a smile and squeezed her hand ever so slightly.

"We can be nervous and messy together," he suggested, and Jongdae snorted.

"That's so cheesy!"

A few hours earlier, Yixing would have died of embarrassment and retracted the statement. But now, he looked up at Jongdae, who was smiling brightly, eyes shining and cheeks just a little flushed, and he smiled, too.

"Are you complaining now?" he asks, a playful edge to the serious tone. "You almost ordered a chunk of grilled cheese just now. Clearly, you like cheese."

Jongdae meaningfully pointed at him with her free hand.

"You, sir, have a point," she admitted.

Yixing was almost sad when their food arrived and he had to let go of Jongdae, but he told himself that having courage shouldn't be a one time thing. So he held her hand again on the way back, lacing their fingers together. At some point, Jongdae had linked arms with him instead, her flow of chatter still there, but noticeably subdued. There really was still a lot Yixing had to learn about Jongdae.

 

Yixing was ready to bring her to her doorstep, just like in the movies, but they lived on opposite sides of the town, and Jongdae insisted that he'd miss the last subway train if he did so.

"You don't need to bring me to my doorstep to say goodbye, do you?" She asked, holding both of his hands, her eyes repeatedly flitting up to the digital board announcing her train.

"Of course not. Still, be safe on your way back, okay?" Yixing asked, and Jongdae rolled her eyes.

"It's not even that late and I live in a chill neighbourhood. It's all good."

"Alright. Then, uhm," Yixing began, hesitating. He should hug her, a hug should be alright.

The train arrived, and before he could move a muscle, Jongdae had leaned in to peck his cheek. It was gone almost as quick as it had happened, and Yixing followed that example and held on to her as he pressed a kiss on her lips instead. Initially clumsy, they both settled into it immediately, all too easily, and Yixing felt like he was seeing lights behind his closed eyes. The noise was distracting, but Jongdae's lips were soft, so soft that he felt dizzy by the time they broke contact. Jongdae blinked, squeezed his hands absently, and then her head whipped around to see the people already filing into the subway.

She patted Yixing's shoulder, the intimate atmosphere broken.

"I don't usually kisson the first date. You're lucky," she said, turning around to make a run for the doors, a happy "bye, see you on Monday!" flying after her.

Yixing waved after the train, and then made his way to the platform his own train would stop at. He was really just moving on autopilot, though, with his mind being completely filled with fizzy excitement. Maybe he'd dance some more today. He was really in the mood for it.  
  


* * *

 

People naturally pushed their tables together for their upcoming lunch break. Battered desks were tugged across the floor, and Jongdae and Chanmi were talking enough for five people, as usual. She had smiled at Yixing earlier, had greeted him nicely, but nothing indicated that Saturday had ever happened. Yixing wasn't that quick to jump to conclusions, and a bit at a loss on how to tie in now, but as usual, Jongdae took over if he took too long. That seemed to be a pattern with them.

"Yixing?"

Yixing looked at the two hands on his table and then up, at Jongdae, who wasn't wearing any makeup or soft hairdo, but that casual smile that drew him in so easily.

"Wanna sit with us?"

"Would that be alright?" he asked, shooting the table a hesitant look, but Jongdae had already grabbed his lunch box.

"Of course it is! Besides, your lunch always looks so exquisite, you'd make our table look less sad."

She plunged into her seat, placing the lunch box next to her, under protest.

"What are you on about? What's wrong with our lunch boxes now?" Baekhyun demanded, and Chanmi had the decency to slowly close her box full of candy.

Yixing nodded at no one in particular, feeling awkward already, and not too sure whether his company was welcome or not.

"How many times have you ordered pizza this week, huh?" Jongdae asked, and Baekhyun reacted by crossing his arms.

"That's not even a lunch box, so it’s out of the competition. We can't all have an endless amount of time to prepare food for school."

"The time you spent waiting for pizza could easily be used to prepare a lunch box," Kyungsoo deadpanned from another corner of the table, and next to a slightly overwhelmed Yixing, Minseo was eyeing his lunch box.

"So what kinda great stuff did you bring?"

"It's nothing great," Yixing protested, very uncomfortable by the sudden attention.

When the others saw his assortment of easy, homemade snacks, they were in awe though. Yixing chalked it up to them not knowing Mandarin cuisine all that well, but it felt nice to be part of a group for once. When Jongdae just watched him with a wide smile, Yixing took the initiative to offer her some, which clearly flustered her. The loud, nosy conversation that followed didn't faze Yixing all that much. He just really liked this look on Jongdae, and the fact that this very rare expression was dedicated to him.

 

There were many years to come, and Yixing would grow and change, but that day, and specifically that moment, would be strangely stuck in his head for years to come. Because that very moment he decided that yes, he wanted to be strong for those he loved, but he also had to voice out his thoughts. He had to express them as clear as he could, in order for them to safely reach those he treasured. Until he mastered that, Jongdae would be by his side to support him, armored with patience, ambition, and a bright smile.

 

**Author's Note:**

> p.s.: yes, I looked it up and 1,33% of all the jongdaes in SK are female. At least one girl shares the same name as our wonderful chenchen, and I am envious  
> (if you're interested, I looked it up here: http://www.erumy.com/nameAnalyze/AnalyzeMyName.aspx?name=%EA%B9%80%EC%A2%85%ED%9D%AC)


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